Woo Hoo!

My Pattern Review Wardrobe entry is finished!   Woo Hooooooooo! 

The aim was to have a wardrobe of casual clothes that all worked together as I was really lacking in that department. 

It's very satisfying looking at the rack of clothes and seeing that I do now have things that mix and match and it is lots of fun trying them all on.   With the benefit of hindsight, if I ever tried a  SWAP wardrobe again I would go for less detailed items as I took such a long time and was really uninspired by the end.    Even my tax return was starting to look enticing! 

Although..... some of the earlier items seem to have shrunk!  Oh no!  Being on holiday, not walking to and from work and being so close to the fridge is having the inevitable result.  There have been glimpses of spring in the air... .. it is time to get outside.

Now, while I ponder that, these were the patterns I ended up using for the Wardrobe. 

And these are the finished items.

The photos of the last 2 things I've made are a bit saggy and baggy looking but I like them more in real life than the photos suggest.  

For the last top I was totally out of inspiration so made a very simple trapeze tee, but it is in cream silk jersey so feels lovely.   The pattern is from Patrones #272. 

The pants are from Patrones #294, in a washed medium weight linen so are very floppy - and impossible to photo. The feature is the back, which has lovely seaming.   I did have to remove one of the pleats - 3 pleats was just way too much volume. 

Aaahhhh... what to make now I'm back to Sewing Without A Plan?

And the other one...

Square gusset t-shirts

Pattern Description:   Square Gusset T-shirt, downloaded from the Website 'How to Fashion Design by Bob Martin', Website.

Most of the interest in this is in the sides and back. The underarm gussets and bottom gusset give the tshirt its shape.

I've made 3 versions - as well as the green version.

Pattern Sizing:   S,M,L. A large seems to equate to a 14. It would be the easiest pattern in the world to size up or down as it just consists of a rectangle front (which includes the back yoke and neck), a smaller rectangle back, simple sleeves, top and bottom underarm gussets and a small gusset at the bottom.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?   Yes, although I changed the neck from a V-neck to a scoop neck. The neckline on the pattern is reasonably high.

Were the instructions easy to follow?   Incredibly thorough - with photos for many steps. There are a couple of bits where more info would be helpful - the v neck binding in particular.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I came across this pattern by accident on an internet search and I think it is great. It has an interesting shape and is very comfortable.

The results will be affected by the fabric. My first effort was in an 11 oz rayon lycra jersey, and it wasn't quite drapey enough and formed big yukky pouches under the back arms - not a good look. So I recommend a drapey jersey.

Fabric Used:   All out of lightweight rayon jerseys from Denver Fabrics. The green was the most drapey - the t-shirt kept growing.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

1. The v neck wasn't doing much for me so I have made it into a scoop neck.

2. On my muslin there were nasty back arm pouches so I reduced the gusset a little (see earlier post).

3. I hadn't made a t-shirt for a while and my neck binding wasn't sitting too well initially so I used this method from Threads Magazine threads neckline binding video, which did the trick.

4. I shaped in the sides a bit between the marker for the bottom gusset and the underarm gusset to reduce boxiness. It is a fairly loose and boxy style.

5. 5cm was taken off the bottom of each sleeve - long is part of the look but these are REALLY long.

Would you sew it again?   Would you recommend it to others? I have sewn 3 up and see more in my future - so yes, I would definitely recommend it to others.

Conclusion:   Love it. This pattern will be having more outings.

A pattern review

I'm finally getting around to doing some reviews on Pattern Review for the Burda biker jacket and the t-shirts I've recently made.   Phew.  I got a bit bogged down on the last tasks on these - and you are probably a bit sick of seeing them too.  Glad to have totally finished them and very ready to go onto something else.

The first (I'll post the other one tomorrow)...

Burda 12/2009 biker style jacket

Pattern Photo:           

Pattern Rating:           Highly Recommend
Pattern Description:   Biker style jacket.

Pattern Sizing:          36-44. I made a 42 with 2cm added to side seams.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?   It would have done, except for my fabric and some minor style modifications.

Were the instructions easy to follow?   They don't look too bad. I just find Burda instructions rather bamboozling and tend to read them only if I get stuck. The style is not very difficult to make.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?  This is a nice biker style jacket and is quite versatile depending on how you make it up. It fits nicely and is relatively easy to make.

Fabric Used:      Not entirely sure -there is definitely metallic - and I would guess that there is some viscose or linen.  Bought from Fabulous Fabrics in Perth.  It is lined with a gold coloured silk habutai lining. And the zip is a lovely decorative bronze metallic zipper from Britex.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:   I did my usual narrow back adjustment and narrow shoulder adjustment - note that the shoulders are very roomy and I had to reduce them more than usual. My pockets are also different. Instead of zip pockets (I didn't have zips that matched my main zips) I did flap and welt pockets (the pattern pieces came from Burda 9/2008 Model 121). I also added an epaulette.

My interfacing is more like a tailored jacket in that I have fairly seriously interfaced the shoulders. 

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?  I would definitely recommend it. I love this style of jacket.

Conclusion:          Very nice little jacket and blessedly easy to make.